Hiding
by Green Raven Katt
Summary: We all hide who we really are inside, don't we? Starring Matt Engarde and Richard Wellington, with cameos by other random people. Rated T for blood, suicide, slight languange, and self-mutilation. Ack, I just spoiled half of it for you all. Oh well!
1. Chapter 1

_Here we go, my first Phoenix Wright_ _fanfic! In which_ _Matt Engarde and Richard Wellington share a prison cell and learn a powerful lesson at the end. (also, Richard hooks up with someone.) So, let me know if I did okay on the first chapter!_

* * *

"Alright. Get in there, you," the blue-haired woman instructed as she roughly shoved a young man into a prison cell. "Wellington," she called, "Come meet your new cellmate."

The man winced as he was being pushed, but regained his composure. Flipping his hair back over his eye, he scanned the cell. Sitting on one of the bunks and sulking, he saw a boy who looked to be in his late teens. His hair was mostly black, but with one blonde lock that stuck out. He was wearing a too-blue outfit, a white scarf, glasses and… was that mascara? The skin on his neck seemed to be somewhat raw from… something.

The teenager looked up from the floor. Out of the corner of his eye, since he didn't really feel like looking directly at him, he noticed a nervous-looking young man who seemed a bit put off. His sandy-brown bangs fell across his right eye, completely hiding that side of his face. Certain areas on his skin were raw and even bleeding, as if he'd been struck several times.

There was a thick silence between them, but after a while the boy broke it by quietly asking, "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" the man repeated.

"I asked first," the teenager said, now looking the man in the eye. He seemed angry.

"I asked last," the man retaliated.

The teenager sighed. He wasn't in the mood for arguing. "Richard Wellington," he muttered.

"I'm Matt Engarde," the man said.

The two sat in silence for another minute, and finally Richard had to ask. "Where did you get those wounds?"

"When I tried to resist arrest, this girl attacked me with a whip," Matt explained. "Pretty harshly, too. You'd probably like her though, dude."

Richard winced. _Did he just call me dude?_

"Explain to me how I would like someone who attacks people with whips," he requested, flatly.

"Well," Matt began, "I admit that she was pretty deadly. I heard her dad actually killed a guy once. She was cute, though. Ice-blue hair, grey eyes, a nice body… and a killer whip. Seriously, dude. I'd ask her out if I could, but I don't think she'd let me."

Alright. Twice was enough, Richard decided. "Dude, stop calling me dude." He paused, and his annoyed expression slowly turned into one of horror as he realized what he'd just said. "ACK! IT'S SPREADING!"

"Oh! Sorry, dude," Matt said.

But Richard was not convinced. "NOOOO! NOT MY FIRST-RATE SELF! I WILL NOT BE SADDLED WITH SLANG VOCABULARY!"

"Too late, dude," Matt said, in a slightly taunting manner.

Richard screamed some more, and fell with a thud onto the cold, concrete floors. His screams eventually gave way into choking sounds. Wait… choking sounds? That couldn't be right. As Matt leaned closer, he gasped in shock. Richard was tugging as hard as he could on both ends of his scarf, which was still around his neck. He was… strangling himself!

Matt immediately grabbed the scarf and yanked it away from Richard, ending his self-torture for the moment. "Dude, what the hell?! Are you trying to kill yourself?!"

Richard refilled his lungs, and stared at the floor. "Maybe…" he muttered.

"Dude, that's sick! If you were so first-rate, you'd know better!"

Richard sighed. "I know," he muttered, "It's just… It's a problem I can't seem to solve. It's… maddening. Ever since I was a child, I've always thought that I could solve all my problems with self-strangulation. Now I know I'm just creating new, even worse problems for myself. And being in prison doesn't help one bit. It's all that lawyer's fault! That stupid, spiky-haired son of a…"

"Spiky hair?" Matt interjected, cutting him off. "Dude, no way…"

_

* * *

Okay, first chapter, so far so good. Kinda short, but oh well. Review meow_


	2. Chapter 2

_Demand suddenly went up for the next chapter, so that's why I'm posting it today instead of next week like I was planning to do. In this chapter, Matt's psycho side finally shows himself! It's a bit shorter than the first one, so sumimasen. Enjoy!_

* * *

It turned out that the spiky-haired lawyer in question, the one who got Richard imprisoned, was the same one who was supposed to defend Matt in court. None other than Phoenix Wright himself.

Later, the inmates had to meet in a fenced-in area outside the building where they would be forced to break rocks with pickaxes. One of them was in a wheelchair, however, so he got to sit it out while he listened to a fork being scraped across a ceramic plate instead. All the torture, but with half the manual labor! Yay!

Anyway, Matt decided to take the opportunity to get to know a few more inmates. He walked up to a man wearing a pink suit and a ring on each finger and greeted him while shattering rocks. The other man turned around and waved, introducing himself as Redd White.

"Did you kill someone too?" Matt inquired out of curiosity.

"I sure did," Redd replied.

"Interesting," Matt said, nodding. "So, why'd you do that? And for that matter, why pink?"

Redd suddenly lashed out and punched Matt in the face, knocking him over. "Don't you dare criticize my outfit, Engarde," he threatened.

Richard noticed the commotion and ran over, dropping his pickaxe. "Hey, leave him alone!" he yelled.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Redd asked.

Meanwhile, Matt staggered to his feet, a little dazed from the hit. He put a hand over his face and was shocked to find it covered in blood. One of Redd's rings must've cut him!

"That's it," Matt whispered, his voice growing slightly deeper and huskier, and pushing his bangs out of his face, revealing his scars. "Now you're gonna get it."

Redd was about to punch Richard in the face, when Matt caught his fist with his hand and wrenched it. "So, you wanna dance?!" he yelled, grabbing Redd's arm and throwing him halfway across the area.

Everyone stared at Matt as he flipped his bangs back over his eye and muttered something about homosexuals under his breath.

"I… think everyone should go back to their cells," the one guard stammered.

* * *

_Anyone recocnize Acro? If you do, You get a cookie! Yaaaaaayyyy... Anyway, Next chapter next week! Review please! smiley face_


	3. Chapter 3

_Well, would you look at that! I updated! And on the same day I said I would update, too! Yay! So anyway, I think this chapter is pretty epic. You'll see why in a minute. Enjoy!_

_**Note:** **This chapter contains spoilers for those of you who haven't beaten JFA. If this ruins the experience for you, please don't complain to me.**_

* * *

Later, Matt was looking in the cell's mirror (why there's a mirror in a prison cell is beyond me) and trying to fix his wound, to no avail. Richard looked on in confusion as to why he was doing this.

After a few minutes of watching, Richard decided to just ask. "Why are you doing that?"

"I beg your pardon?" Matt asked, turning to face Richard.

"Why are you working so hard on that wound? You seem to be alright with the scars you already have…"

"That's different," Matt explained. "If this becomes a scar, it'll be the first scar carved into me by someone else. I won't allow that. Besides, scars are supposed to have meaning behind them. Significance. This was just a random wound."

"Oh," Richard said. "Well, here. Let me help," he said, taking off his scarf.

"Thanks, dude," Matt said.

They worked at it for a few minutes, and at some point Richard sighed. "Matt, I have a confession to make. Remember earlier, how I said I was 22?"

"Yeah…" Matt said, in a bit of a questioning tone.

"I lied," Richard muttered. "I'm actually 19. That was just a front to make me look smarter."

Matt laughed a little. "I guess we all hide who we really are, huh?"

"I guess so," Richard said.

In a matter of minutes, the wound was completely healed. "Thanks again, dude," Matt said, smiling.

Richard smiled back, and then staring at the floor for a few seconds, he asked, "Why did you act the way you did earlier?"

"You mean with that one gay dude with the rings?" Matt said.

"Yeah, him," Richard answered. "In that fight with him, it was like your whole personality changed altogether. The tone of your voice, your temper… and you didn't say the D word even once."

Matt sighed. "Well, I guess it's time for you to meet him now," he said.

"What are you talking about—" Richard started to say, but was cut off by Matt flipping his hair out of his face, revealing his scars. He got this evil grin that was just all-around… un-Matt-like.

"How do you do, Mister Wellington? I'm Matt Engarde."

And Richard fainted.

The next thing he knew, he was in Matt's arms. While his vision was a little fuzzy, he could see that Matt was back to his normal self again.

"Dude, are you okay?" Matt asked, genuine concern in his voice.

"Mhm…" Richard groaned. He was still recovering from the shock. "What happened?"

"Nothing, you just fainted for about two minutes. Sorry about that," Matt said. He then turned around, and yelled at seemingly nobody. "This is all your fault, you know!"

"Who are you talking to?" Richard asked, in a slight whisper.

Matt sighed. "That dude from earlier… the one I turned into… He's the real Matt Engarde," he explained. "I'm just a front he put up to hide suspicion. Kinda like how you lied about your age."

Richard didn't exactly believe him, but decided to play along anyway. "So," he started to say, "If you're not really Matt Engarde, then what…?

"Call me Matt anyway," Matt said. "We share the same name anyway."

"Right…" Richard muttered. He sighed under his breath. _Great,_ he thought. _Just when I thought I was gonna make a friend in here, he turns out to be a psycho._

* * *

_And now you know why I felt this chapter was so epic. But at any rate, I'd like to see your opinion on the potential epic-ness of that moment. In other words, please review! Arigato._


	4. Chapter 4

_Sumimasen about the long wait, you guys! My mind hasn't really been in the right place lately... But I'm back! And with a new chapter! Actually, my best friend's been getting on and off my case about it for the past few weeks. I hope you like it!_

It was later that evening when Richard found himself coming out of a daze. The oxygen deprivation must've been getting to him. He glanced over to Matt; the older man was staring out the window with a worried look in his eye. Richard wondered what he must've been thinking about.

"I miss my kitty," Matt said quietly, as if read Richard's mind.

Richard was surprised. "You never told me you had a kitty," he said.

Matt looked at him. "His name is Shoe," he said. "He was a stray. To be honest, I didn't exactly adopt him so much as he adopted me." He added this part with a small laugh, but frowned when he came to the next part. "Now that we're in jail, there's nobody to take care of him anymore. He probably misses us."

"And by 'us' you mean… the other Matt Engarde?"

"Of course."

Richard sighed, faking a smile. "And how does he feel about that?" he asked.

"I don't really think he cares—what was that?" Matt said, turning to someone Richard couldn't see. "Oh, okay. He says that he feels the same way I do, but he thinks Shoe's probably at an animal shelter somewhere. Or maybe Adrian's taking care of him. Either way, he's not worried, but sort of sorry he couldn't say goodbye."

Richard was intrigued by this statement. "He feels bad about Shoe?"

"Of course he does," Matt said defensively. "Evil people can have a soft spot for cute things too, y'know."

Richard nodded, remembering a babysitter he'd once had as a child.

There was yet another thick silence between them. Richard broke it after about five minutes.

"…Matt? If I may ask…" Richard said warily.

"Yeah, what is it, dude?"

He winced, now really beginning to hate that word. "Umm, when exactly did you… start to exist?"

Matt actually looked a bit scared. "Wh-what do you mean?"

Richard sighed again. "To tell the truth, I'm not sure. I guess I want to know why you let yourself be pushed around. I mean, even if you're a front, you still have your own personality, your own mind and soul…"

Matt felt small tears coming to his eyes. "Wow. That's deep, dude. If you really want to know, I don't have a say in the matter. He always comes out eventually. And you can't resist yourself for too long."

Richard nodded. "I think I'd like to ask your true self a few questions," he said, not even knowing what had possessed him to say it.

Matt paused. "He doesn't mind, but… are you sure you can handle the pressure?"

"I'm sure," Richard said, though his voice was beginning to waver the slightest bit.

"If you say so, dude," Matt said, before dramatically flipping his hair out of his face.

"Well, Mister Wellington?" the evil Matt asked, a devious glint in his eye. "I believe you have a few questions for me?

Richard had to sit down to keep from fainting again.

Matt laughed. "There are no chains protecting me this time," he said. "I'm all yours. Ask away."

"Umm, okay," Richard said, wondering what the chain thing meant. "Why do you use your other self like that? He's part of you, so… Isn't that like hurting yourself?"

"Hey. You hurt yourself plenty of times. Why do you do that?"

To his chagrin, Richard found himself going on the defensive. "I'm used to it," he said. "I could stop it, but I don't want to. And I don't know if I ever will."

"Exactly," Matt said. "I could easily give up Mister Flakey entirely, or perhaps let him take over. But—I don't care if you don't want to be called that anymore. Sorry about that. Anyway, people are meant to be used. And if that includes you… who am I to stop it? Now, is that all? I'm a busy man, as you know."

"Just one more question," Richard said, already starting to become scared. "… Do you plan to use me?"

A pause.

"I'm sorry," Matt said "A bunch of locks and chains have just surrounded me. With no evidence to break them, your soul will be torn apart. We wouldn't want that to happen, now would we, Mister Wellington?"

"Just answer the question," Richard said defiantly. _This guy's nuts!_ He thought.

Matt gazed at his interrogator, pondered, and laughed.

"… Maybe."

* * *

_Well? Was it worth the wait? I sure hope so! Review or I will send Shoe over to your house and he will meow sadly and make you feel very bad about yourself._

_In the next chapter, we get a glimpse into Matt's mind! =D_


	5. Chapter 5

_Oooooooookaaaaaaaayyyyy... Sumimasen about the wait (again...) but expect the next chapter by... let's say the end of April, I swear. I just__ have the think of what the basic plotline of the next chapter is. I already have some elements down but... I'm not going to spoil it. ;) Enjoy the strangeness!_

It was lights out at about 10:00 PM. Richard, who was in the bunk across from Matt, had seemed to fall asleep almost instantly. Matt smiled. The day's events must've taken a lot out of him.

No sooner had Matt gotten comfortable in his own bunk and closed his eyes when a loud banging noise repetitively resounded throughout the prison walls and startled him. Uneasily, he got back up and tiptoed to Richard and proceeded to shake him.

"Hmh… phantom of the hockey rink… huh? Matt, what is it?" he mumbled, half-asleep.

"Dude, didn't that loud noise wake you up?" Matt asked.

"No," Richard said bluntly, clearly not very keen on being woken up. "YOU woke me up, you whacked-out nut job."

Matt forced a dry laugh. "Y'know, you're a bitch when you're drowsy." Richard snorted. "Anyway, you have any idea what that is?"

Richard let out an exasperated sigh. "It's just von Karma banging his head against the wall. He does it every night. Don't worry, he'll tire himself out eventually. Now LEAVE ME ALONE." With that, he turned to face the wall, asleep within seconds.

Matt stared at the comatose emo kid for about a minute before heading back to his side of the cell.

"_How long do you think he's going to keep that up?"_ Matt's evil half asked/complained. Von Karma was still going at it.

"_If I had to guess, I'd say… a while,"_ the first Matt responded, not speaking out loud so as not to awaken Richard again. Not that he could.

A good while later and nothing had changed. All that time, Matt had been thinking about his other half's words earlier that evening. Did he really mean what he'd said about him? Did he really feel that way about him? About himself?

_I should ask him,_ he thought, opening the mind link.

"_Hey, dude? Are you awake?"_ he asked.

"_Barely. What is it?"_ came the reply.

"_I was just thinking about what you said earlier,"_ the better side mind-probed. _"You said you could… give me up altogether whenever you wanted to? What'd you mean by that?"_

"_I meant exactly what I said,"_ the evil half said, smiling. _"I could completely regain control of my own body, as you and I both know it rightfully is, and push you to the darkest corner of my mind."_

"_That's not true!"_ the good half protested angrily. _"I'm not just a product of your insanity. You didn't choose for me to exist, and neither did I. I'm just… here. I have no idea how, but I'm here."_

A pause. The original seemed to be thinking.

"_I suppose you're right,"_ he admitted. _"But that doesn't mean I won't continue to use you the way I have all your existence."_

"_Umm, hello? Life in prison sentence?"_

"_Your point?"_

The flake thought for a second, and sighed. _"Never mind."_

After a good, solid half hour, von Karma had finally stopped and both Matts were able to get some sleep.

* * *

_Wow, Matt must hate himself. Anyway, review or I will send Shoe over to your house and make you feel very bad about yourself._


	6. Chapter 6

_See? I got the latest chapter up a day early! :D I kept my promise to you all, yay! Anyway, this chapter is in POVCute!Matt because that's how I write dream sequences. That's right, that's what this is. It's also a flashback. Hope you like!_

* * *

"Who was that?" I asked, getting up from my spot on the floor as my other self hung up the phone.

"Celeste was just asking if we wanted to go to the movies with her and Adrian, but I declined. Those plans we had for this evening, remember?"

"Oh yeah," I said, recalling how we had downloaded a few of Corrida's least favorite songs over the internet last night. "But by what you were saying, it sounded more like she was giving you one of her lectures."

"Well, that too," he said nonchalantly, as if he didn't care (which is most likely the case).

"What'd she say?" I asked. I normally wouldn't be that curious, but it looked like something about the lecture had upset him.

"Well, she said…" he trailed off.

"She said…?"

He got a look that almost made me shiver. "I don't remember her exact words, but she said something about me not being myself half the time."

I gasped. It was me, I knew it.

He continued. "You...You shouldn't even be here, Mister Flakey. You're nothing more than an accident. This is my body and my mind... If you absolutely must exist, you're simply part of me."

I said nothing.

"I'm in control here, and there's nothing you can do. Why can't you accept that?" he demanded, really making me shiver this time.

"I can't accept it 'cause it's not true, dude," I said defiantly. "If anything, you're a part of me!"

He laughed. Not the reaction I'd expected.

"Can you back that up?" He asked. "Do you have any evidence?"

_Alright, that's it,_ I decided. Today was the day.

"This is all the proof I need!" I shouted, and clawed his face.

He screamed in pain. That was it. I had done it; I had stood up to him.

For a few seconds I just stood panting, beads of sweat running into my mouth. I tasted it.

_Wait a minute… that's not sweat…_

I brought a hand up to my face. Sure enough, I was bleeding the same as him, though I couldn't feel the pain I had caused him.

"N-no…"

He laughed again. "You see now? You really are part of me. If you hurt me… you hurt yourself, too." He licked his own blood, and continued. "Your nails dig deep… These wounds may not heal completely… And you'll be the one to deal with them, not me."

"Wh-what?! What do you mean, dude?!" I cried frantically.

"I'm giving you temporary custody of our body and mind. I guess we won't be torturing Corrida tonight… what a shame. Have fun cleaning up the blood… And don't think I'll be gone for long…"

A split second later, pain was the only thing that filled my mind. I screamed and collapsed. How could he have been so calm while he was experiencing this?! I guess I'm just weaker than him. I really hate that dude sometimes.

My cell phone lay on the floor, two feet away from me. My only chance of survival. I reached for it and hit the call return button.

Not waiting for her cheery greeting, I muttered "Celeste, I need you to come to my room as soon as possible… and bring a first-aid kit…"

With that I passed out.

* * *

_I know, I know, it's short. But it was all I could do so there. :D Please review, guys!_


	7. Chapter 7

_I should warn you, this one's really sad. I guess it should be that way, though... It is the suicide chapter. Let me know what you think after reading it, please._

* * *

Matt woke up, shivering. It had been a long time since he'd thought of that incident, and he wondered what had caused the memory.

Then he remembered. Richard Wellington. It was his questions that caused him to question his other self…That must have brought it on.

Matt sat up and turned to Richard, wanting to thank him, but he was asleep.

"Well, he did sleep through the head banging," Matt said quietly.

That gave him a thought. Quietly, Matt slipped into his own mind and saw his evil side fast asleep.

"T…this is perfect. I won't get another chance…It has to be tonight. Right here, right now…"

Matt thought about all his evil self had said. How he was disposable, weak. How he wasn't even meant to exist. How his evil side might use Richard…

Richard. He had said the most important thing…that he was his own person, with his own mind and soul…that he couldn't be pushed around all his life…

"Nnngh…That'll show you, Mr. Lawyer," his evil side moaned, and for a moment Matt was afraid he'd wake up. But in a moment he was sound asleep again, making slashing movements with his fists.

Matt watched him for a minute or two to make sure he was asleep. When he was confident his evil side was zonked, Matt gazed at the cell's mirror.

He gazed at his innocent, unscarred left side. After a moment's hesitation, he brushed his hair aside to gaze at his scars. Matt Engarde took a good, hard look at himself for a long time.

Steeling himself, Matt unflipped his hair. That man, that… _thing_… was not him. For that matter, who was he? Was he even anyone? Was he…

He couldn't take it anymore. Without thinking, he punched the mirror and shattered it.

He screamed in pain as the glass cut him. He looked with a slight grimace at the blood that was leaking from his knuckles. Blood that his other half would've enjoyed seeing, if he were awake.

_Alright, that does it_, he decided then and there. The torture would end tonight.

He picked up a glass shard and was about to slit his wrist with it when a small voice stopped him.

"Matt…"

Matt turned around to face Richard. _So, I'm not the only one who talks in his sleep…_ he thought. He continued to listen for anything else Richard might say.

"Matt… You're…my only friend…"

Matt blinked in shock. Had Richard just said what he'd thought he'd said? In that instant, he was finally shown the light… he realized how much Richard meant to him… how much he meant to Richard… His mind flashed back to how he had protected Richard earlier that day. How he had paid him back later by tending to his wound. To… _him_, it may have been nothing more than a revenge shot. But to Richard…

To Richard…it was for his own safety. This would be Matt's final act of protection…he'd make sure his evil side would never get the chance to use Richard.

Matt slipped into his mind for the last time and whispered in his evil side's ear.

"Enjoy your dream of revenge, dude. You won't get another one."

He then walked over to Richard. He was still unconscious even after the crash, which was something of a shock to Matt. _He's got to be deepest sleeper I've ever seen,_ he thought. He knelt down. "Richard…" he whispered, "I know you probably can't hear me, but you need to know something. I consider you to be a friend too. The only one who really mattered. And you know something? You matter a lot. You're the one who encouraged me to stand up to myself. You… set me free, Richard. And for that, I want to say… thank you."

He gave the sleeping teenager a gentle, one-armed hug. Richard smiled in his sleep, and Matt wiped away a tear that he hadn't realized was there. It didn't really matter; he had every right to cry now. He'd only just now confessed his feelings to someone, and no less right before his suicide! Well, it was for the best. He would finally be free.

He walked back to his bunk and lay down, facing the wall. He almost smiled. This one move, this one, simple action, would end it all.

_I'll finally be my own person,_ was his final thought before stabbing himself in the heart.

* * *

_..._


End file.
